Tom Cherveny / Tribune
A Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad crew reported the fire that broke out in the Hanley Falls Farmer's Cooperative Elevator around 4:30 a.m. on Friday. Firefighters from 10 departments battled the blaze. The fire destroyed the elevator's wood structure on the west edge of the community in Yellow Medicine County. The elevator's newer facilities on the south edge of town were not affected. 3 / 7

Tom Cherveny / Tribune
The Montevideo and Marshall fire departments provided aerial units to pour water on the fire that destroyed a Hanley Falls Farmers Cooperative Elevator facility and spray two concrete silos adjacent to the burning structure.4 / 7

Tom Cherveny / Tribune
Firefighters from 10 departments joined together to battle the fire at the Hanley Falls Farmers Cooperative Elevator on Friday morning. Keeping a steady supply of water, some of it taken from the nearby Yellow Medicine River, was a priority. 5 / 7

Tom Cherveny / Tribune
Firefighting efforts were directed at containing the fire, as well as preventing its spread to nearby residences and buildings in Hanley Falls. At its peak, the fire spewed one-inch sized embers that rained over parts of the community. 6 / 7

Tom Cherveny / Tribune
Firefighting efforts were directed at containing the fire, as well as preventing its spread to nearby residences and buildings in Hanley Falls. At its peak, the fire spewed one-inch sized embers that rained over parts of the community. 7 / 7

No one was injured, and the local firefighters — with help from at least 10 other departments — were able to contain the blaze to the 1959-built, traditional wood-crib elevator on the west side of the community.

"What they do is just amazing,'' said Scott Dubbelde, general manager of the Farmers Cooperative Elevator, of the efforts by the volunteers. "We're really blessed to have those folks in our communities. They just did it.''

A Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad crew spotted and reported the fire around 4:30 a.m., according to the Yellow Medicine Sheriff's Department.

Hanley Falls Fire Department Chief Paul Neisius said flames were already erupting from the wooden structure as the first volunteers reached the scene minutes later. He said the first to arrive realized immediately that more help was needed, and sent out calls to area departments.

Protecting neighboring structures from the burning embers and "making sure that everybody was safe'' were the top priorities as the firefighters set up to battle the blaze, said the chief.

The blaze destroyed a wood-crib elevator that was about half full of grain, according to Dubbelde. It held corn, oats and soybeans and was used only for storage. No staff members were in the structure at the time the fire was discovered.

As the fire quickly grew in intensity, a wind from the southwest carried embers into a residential area of the community of just over 300 people along the Yellow Medicine River, southwest of Granite Falls in Yellow Medicine County. Firefighters used the river as a source of water for their efforts. The Montevideo and Marshall fire departments brought aerial ladder trucks to the scene, and they kept a steady stream of water on the burning structure, as well as on two adjacent concrete grain silos.

Dubbelde said it is too early to know whether the concrete silos or their contents were damaged, but from their appearance he is hopeful they escaped harm.

Once the blaze was controlled, concerns turned to making certain the smoldering pile of wood and grain did not flare up or cause other, recurring issues. A crew and their equipment from Gregerson Salvage of Waubay, S.D., was expected to reach the scene later Friday to manage and clean up the site. Dubbelde said the company is fully equipped for this type of work and has a long history of dealing with elevator fire clean ups.

The cause of the fire is not known at this time, and is under investigation, according to Chief Neisius.

The fire will not impact operations at the Hanley Falls elevator. Its largest storage and operation facilities are separately located on the south side of the community, and the cooperative also owns and operates facilities in neighboring communities. All employees are on the job and patrons can expect service as normal, according to the general manager.

Dubbelde said he credits the "heavy lifting'' done by all the volunteers, as well as law enforcement from throughout the area, with keeping everyone safe and bringing a major fire under control. "We have to put things in perspective,'' he said. "No one got hurt. We'll deal with this. We were real fortunate, that's just the bottom line.''

Fire departments responding to the scene included those from Hanley Falls, Granite Falls, Wood Lake, Echo, Clarkfield, St. Leo, Porter, Canby, Cottonwood, Marshall and Montevideo. Ambulance crews from Granite Falls and Cottonwood also responded. The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Department, Minnesota State Patrol, Granite Falls Police, and Minnesota Department of Transportation assisted with traffic control, according to information from the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Department.